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We all know that tabbed browsing is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and I use Adium and Gaim primarily because of their tabbed chat window features. I even went so far as to mock-up what a tabbed BBEdit interface could look like before they introduced the feature in BBEdit 8.0. Scott discovered iTerm last week and I’ve happily made the switch from Terminal.

Why are tabbed applications all the rage? I think it is because we are doing much more than we ever have with our computers, and that using tabs within a single application window keeps the number of open windows we have from becoming unmanageable – it helps us keep everything organized.

What’s next? I’ve been thinking that I would certainly use a tabbed Finder window (hello Path Finder, jump on this idea – ok?) and a tabbed FTP client (Transmit? Captain FTP? Beuller?). I’ve read that people are pushing for a tabbed interface in Thunderbird (view different folders and/or messages in different tabs) which could be interesting.

What applications do you wish had tabbed interfaces? Why do you think tabs have become so popular? And perhaps, where do tabs not belong?

UPDATE: Here is a mock-up of what a tabbed Path Finder window could look like…

In one sense, a fully tabbed user interface has already been invented, it’s called “Virtual Desktops” or “Workspaces”. This is a very common feature on linux, and I am positive that clients exist for OSX and Windows. I personally use Virtual Dimension on Windows. You can set up hotkeys for each workspace (I usually use about 4 at a time), that enable you to quickly switch between them.

I honestly don’t know if I could say that having virtual desktops has improved the amount of work I do, but it has fixed that nagging attribute of always having to keep a clean desktop/task bar.

Tabbed email
Just using Thunderbird with 3 separate accounts, each with about 30 folders, and it occurred to me that Thunderbird should have tabbed email. This would allow me to focus completely on the one account I am using at the moment. The tab could show the …

I was thinking the other day about “tabbed” programs – like Firefox, etc. – and how they make my life sooooo much easier.As an example, I need to look at at least 4 web pages to do my work – if I were to use Internet Explorer, that 4 more windows I n…

Though this would be ghetto rigged, wouldn’t it be possible to create an empty program that allowed you to link other programs to and would tab all programs linked to it? It wouldn’t be nearly as nice as if it was inherently built into the program itself, but would provide the functionality that youâ€™re looking for.

i’m working on a project at the moment that does exactly what Smitty McSmith is talking about, that is provide a empty container and add tab functionality to any program you want. This doesn’t change the program, but does add tab functionality to putty or anyt other program you desire.

Yes, indeed. Tabbed applications really make life easier. But I do not see the point in having softwares like wintabber because is it not what the OS is doing? I mean, imagine if you have all the application running within this container – might they as well not run outside it?

If you’re looking for a good tabbed terminal client, look no further. Try AbsoluteTelnet! Not only does it support telnet as the MS client does, but it also supports SSH, which is a better security choice. It has a tabbed interface, advanced security, and is translated into seven languages!